"Oh, gentlemen, fighting is strictly forbidden here today!"
Seeing the confrontation between the major pirates of the New World, Tesoro extended his hand, and small arcs of electricity sparked from his fingertips. The pure gold walls and ceiling began to ripple like liquid, and the huge golden dragons on the four main pillars seemed to come alive, their heads swaying gently.
"W-w-what's going on?"
"The walls and ceiling are moving? What kind of ability is that?"
"Controlling gold... so are we all just fish in a barrel here?"
"What a tricky ability! This is his home turf!"
The crowd grew noisy again as some people analyzed Tesoro's power. Others nervously eyed the golden chairs they were sitting on and the tables next to them.
"Are you threatening me?!" Jack said, his expression frigid as an intimidating aura radiated from him.
"No, no, no... just a word of caution. After all, peaceful cooperation brings prosperity," Tesoro said, shaking his head and wagging his index finger.
To be honest, inside Gran Tesoro, Tesoro wasn't afraid of Jack at all. Jack was a heavy tank—strong and durable, but lacking agility. Tesoro, with his "Awakened" Gold-Gold Fruit, had no fear of such opponents.
At that moment, Jack, Perospero, and Oven's expressions all stiffened simultaneously as they felt two more terrifying presences lock onto them. The three turned their heads to see Aeridar and Doflamingo.
It was then that they understood.
This auction was a collaboration between the three of them. No wonder Tesoro had so many good items, and no wonder he dared to build such an entertainment city in the New World.
As the eldest son of the Charlotte Family, Perospero handled many matters. He was usually the one who received all the guests at Big Mom's Tea Parties, making him a public face and representative of the Big Mom Pirates. He was well-versed in social etiquette.
"Perorin Of course, peaceful cooperation brings prosperity. Since this is an auction, what matters is financial power" Perospero said with a creepy grin, his tongue flicking out, while subtly mocking a certain someone. He then directly placed his bid: "We aren't like some brainless idiots who cause trouble. Such reckless behavior is not welcome. We bid 220 million Berries."
"You damn coward! Who do you think I am?! 250 million Berries!" Jack shouted furiously, glaring at Perospero.
"200 million Berries!"
Suddenly, another voice chimed in. It came from a man sitting not far from Jack, wearing a large white top hat, a white suit, white shoes, and a white fur coat.
"Damn you!" Jack roared, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at the man.
"Perorin~ Interesting! Interesting!" Perospero's eyes turned cold as he stared at the man.
"Pirates, watch your arrogance. In this world, the World Government is number one!" The middle-aged man's eyes sparked with killing intent as he met Jack and Perospero's stares without fear.
"The World Government!" The entire hall fell silent.
"The World Government?! An agent?!" Jack muttered in a deep voice. Then, he suddenly stomped his foot and stomped forward.
"You scoundrel! This is... the New World!" Jack roared, his eyes wide and bloodshot, as he punched directly at the suspected agent.
"Idiot!" the man cursed as his body shot forward and met Jack's fist with his own.
Swoosh!
In an instant, the golden floor bulged up, and a wall of molten, liquid-like gold rose to block them both.
Thump!
The next moment, both their fists slammed into the liquid gold wall with a muffled thud. The immense force was completely absorbed by the wall, and no collateral damage was dealt to the surroundings.
"Everyone here today is a guest. Don't cause trouble, it's not good business!" Tesoro said, extending his hand towards Jack's direction, where some of the electricity from before still lingered.
"I said, can you all just sit down? This place is partly my responsibility." Aeridar stood up lazily, expressing his displeasure to Jack and the suspected World Government agent. "If you break anything, am I supposed to go to the people you work for with your heads? What a couple of jerks."
"Golden Ring Aeridar!"
"No wonder Tesoro dared to open an entertainment city in the New World."
"So he's allied with a big shot like this."
"Wait, and Doflamingo is over there. Are all three of them working together?!"
"It's very possible. I heard Doflamingo has been trading with Tesoro for the past two years."
Seeing Aeridar appear and Doflamingo next to him, the hall erupted into a flurry of murmurs.
In a hidden corner of the hall, a man wearing an iron mask muttered to himself, "'Golden Ring Aeridar,' huh... I heard that Boss Shiki isn't too happy with him. I'd really love to take his head and give it to Boss Shiki. And that blood ginseng... what a shame. With three big shots here, now is not the time to show my hand."
"Hmph! Come get me if you've got the guts, you damn coward!" Jack sneered coldly at Aeridar, but he returned to his seat without making another move.
"I'll bid 220 million Berries. I want to give this blood ginseng to Mama as a birthday present. Perorin~" Seeing the conflict end, Perospero raised the bid again.
"Hmph! 250 million Berries!" Jack said coldly.
"300 million Berries!" the World Government agent announced in a cold voice.
At that, Jack and Perospero stopped bidding. It wasn't that they didn't have the money, but in terms of financial power, no one in the world could compete with the World Government. It wasn't worth continuing the fight.
The suspected agent successfully bid on the thousand-year-old blood ginseng, and a faint smile appeared on his face. It seemed this particular item was very important to him.
The items that followed were not as impressive as the first two, but they were still rare treasures that caused interested bidders to turn red in the face as they fought over them.
There were antiques from over a thousand years ago, a crown embedded with enormous gems, the world's finest red wine, recipes for precious medicinal baths, a set of ten SS-grade medicines, and more.
There were many good items, and every single one was fought over. Not a single item went unsold.
Soon, the morning passed, and in a few hours, twenty-seven items had been auctioned off. It looked like it would take another day to auction everything.
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